Everbright Bank board approves split-off

    CHINA Everbright Bank Co. has got internal approval to shift its wealth management business into a separate unit, possibly leading the way in asset split-offs by Chinese lenders.

    The Beijing-based bank’s board approved a plan to put the wealth business into a wholly owned independent unit, according to a statement that the bank issued Friday. The move will await regulatory approval, the bank said. The bank’s wealth business may be worth US$10.1 billion, based on average valuations of Chinese fund managers.

    Air China posts 14% rise in net profit

    AIR China Ltd. reported a 14 percent rise in 2014 net profit Friday, helped by lower oil prices and rising passenger numbers.

    Profit rose to 3.78 billion yuan (US$609 million) from 3.32 billion while revenue rose 7.4 percent, a stock exchange filing showed. The airline did not provide guidance for 2015 but warned that competitive pressures were rising from Middle Eastern carriers as well as from domestic rivals that are introducing more international routes. The slowdown of China’s economy will also hurt civil aviation growth, the company warned.

    Baosteel net profit down 0.45%

    BAOSHAN Iron & Steel Co. (Baosteel), China’s biggest listed steelmaker by market value, posted a 0.45 percent fall in its 2014 net profit Friday, logging a second straight year of declines as an easing Chinese economy sapped demand.

    Net profit of Baosteel, whose peers include Gansu Jiu Steel Group Hongxing Iron & Steel Co. and Anyang Iron & Steel Inc., reached 5.79 billion yuan (US$932 million), inching down from 5.82 billion yuan from a year ago. China’s steel sector, the world’s biggest, is struggling with heavy debts and low profits, due to slower demand growth as the world’s No.2 economy loses strength, combined with chronic overcapacity, leaving many small mills to close.

    Zoomlion says 2014 earnings down 85%

    MAJOR Chinese machinery maker Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. said Friday its 2014 earnings fell 84.6 percent year on year due to weak demand.

    The Shenzhen-listed company’s net profit amounted to 594 million yuan (US$96 million) last year, according to a stock exchange filing, in line with its own forecast. It made 3.8 billion yuan in 2013.